


Honor-less Codes of Conduct

by BestIvanTea



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Adventure, Childhood Friends, Fantasy-like, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I'm borrowing Victor's counterpart's personality, I'm gonna add more tags as I go, M/M, Obsessive Behavior, Possessive Behavior, Romance, also I'm not british so I don't know any slangs, headcanons, like a lot of them, might have some violence in later chapters, trainshipping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:14:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27775183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BestIvanTea/pseuds/BestIvanTea
Summary: Connection to past lives, and their importance to the present; living legends whose stories are being forgotten; discovery of the lost and hidden; and the divide between old and new.Not that Victor cares about any of that - he's too focused on Hop to care about anything else.orJust a re-telling of the Pokemon Sword and Shield game but with lore, backstories, fairy tales, legends, world-building, and basically whatever comes to my mind.
Relationships: Hop/Masaru | Victor
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> No, this is not related to the Puppy Love series. This story takes place in an alternate universe where I actually write properly and not just to see Yandere Victor. Also, I made this while I have like four long requirements to complete. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

_“…and they all lived happily ever after.”_

_The sound of a book being closed echoed throughout the room, followed by the ever so slowly crackling of the fireplace._

_It was in the middle of winter where Mother and Son were huddled underneath a thick and comfy comforter. The young boy was covered from chest to toe while his Mum was only covered waist down._

_“How was the story Victor?” her calming voice asked._

_Victor frowned and scrunched his eyebrows. “I don’t like it,” he answered. “The Prince is too much of a coward!”_

_Instead of getting angry, the Mother laughed and patted her child’s head. “Hmmm, why do you say so?”_

_“The Dragon kidnapped the Princess right?” His Mum nodded. “She must have been so scared waiting for someone to rescue her! If I was him, I would have just locked her away where no one would get to her!”_

_“I see… but what if she doesn’t want to get locked up? If you try and force her, she might not like you anymore.”_

_“Then I’ll get rid of anyone that tries to steal her away from me. I’ll kill them before they could even **think** of doing anything!”_

**\- - - - -**

It was a nice morning in the small town of Postwick, a town occupied by two houses, and home to five people and one hundred seventy-eight Wooloos. The last traces of puddles on the road were finally gone, and people could finally walk peacefully without slipping every two minutes.

The farthest house, the one with a red roof, was currently housing two residents: a mother and her son that moved from Kanto ten years ago.

At the moment, said son was at the back of the house, tending to the vegetable garden his Mum started a few weeks ago. There were already some sprouts coming out from the ground, and a couple of berry bushes days away from being harvested.

Along with the boy was his Mum’s pokemon, Munchlax, eating whatever edible item he could get his little chubby paws on.

Once the garden was completely taken care of, Victor went back inside the house with Munchlax and was greeted by his one and only lovable childhood best friend and now rival (in his own words), Hop, staring at the sword encased in glass by the hallway.

Coming from a family of swordsmiths from his Mum’s side, he was already trained and taught in the ways of repairing tools and making them, and even then he could understand Hop’s awe and admiration towards the sword his Mum made for her engagement with Dad.

Of course, the marriage didn’t last long, and the engagement sword was returned back to her after Dad left the region. But that’s not the topic at hand.

“Admiring the sword again Hop?” Victor asked, hiding a laugh behind his smile as he watched Hop jump in place.

“Victor!” Hop shouted before wincing by the loudness of his voice. “Victor! Where did you come from?”

“The backyard, just finished tending to the garden,” Victor answered. “What about you? Why are you here?”

Hop immediately beamed and started trembling in excitement; Victor was sure that if he were to hold Hop right now – how he wish he could – he’d still vibrate.

“Guess what Vic?” Without giving Victor a chance to answer his question, Hop continued, “Lee’s coming back home today and I’m sure he brought presents!”

Leon is the eldest son of the family, the proud big brother of Hop, and Galar’s reigning Champion for over ten years. He met him when he was around four years old on the same day he moved to Galar with his Mum.

Their meeting was brief as Leon was already Champion at that time. And being Champion of a region at the age of fourteen was no easy feat. He had a lot of duties to attend to, and going back to his hometown was considered a special occasion.

So hearing Leon coming back to Postwick was a huge surprised, but a welcomed one.

After all, he could ask him all about Hop’s childhood that didn’t include him.

Victor hummed his interest. “Let me guess, you want me to come with you to pick him up?”

“Your help would certainly aid me in escorting Leon back home safely,” Hop pleaded. “Leon is pants with direction; he gets lost in straight roads! STRAIGHT! ROADS!”

Ms. Tsuguri, having heard of Hop’s passionate complaint, poked her head out of the kitchen. “Oh Hop, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Hello Ms. Tsuguri. Guess what? Guess what?” Hop was so excited to share the good news that he didn’t wait for her to answer. “Lee’s coming home!”

Ms. Tsuguri smiled and completely stepped out of the kitchen, and stood underneath the archway while wiping her slightly wet hands on her apron.

“Oh my, it is indeed a special day,” she mused. “It’s been years since I properly saw little Leon; the telly doesn’t tell much when I try to watch his battles.”

“It’s totally different when you face him in the flesh.”

As the two continued on talking, Victor went upstairs to change into a different t-shirt, as the one he was currently wearing had a little bit of dirt and paw print from Munchlax that he didn’t notice until now.

For someone who eats with their mouth full and would like the world to know about it, Munchlax could be really sneaky when he wants to.

He changed into a simple red t-shirt, grabbed his gray beanie, and the large and heavy suitcase that he received from his family.

Before leaving the room though, he went to one of his closets that was obviously sealed off, evidence of the lock at the handles. Grabbing the key that was hidden underneath the lamp next to him, he unlocked the closet and inside was his most precious collections.

Admiration, Passion, and Love immediately surged through Victor’s entire being as he lifted a picture frame containing the face of the one he loved most. Gently caressing it as if he was afraid of it breaking, he gave it a small kiss before placing it back to its original position.

The closet doors were then closed, locks back on the handles, and key hidden in a different location.

As he climbed down the stairs, he spotted his Mum and Hop chatting in the living room. He eyed the coffee table that was visible in the hallway and was relieved to see there were no albums scattered around.

Hop must have heard him come down as he snapped his neck towards him and grinned. “Have a look at you! Ready to go Vic?”

That smile was enough to power the region of Galar – it should be illegal.

Victor quietly nodded and the two of them gave their goodbyes to Ms. Tsuguri. Before exiting he house, both Mother and Son shared a knowing look only them could know the meaning of.

Hop thought of how good their relationship was.

They were quickly greeted by the wild Budews outside the house. Normally, all three pokemons would climb their pants as a way of getting the boys to take them with on their adventure. However this time, the two Budews were jumping up and down while the other rolled down the steps.

Confused and worried, Hop and Victor followed the rolling Budew to a Wooloo ramming it’s head against a gate.

Hop let out a sigh of relief and laughed as he approached the Wooloo and grabbed it by its fluff. “Hey, hey, hey, what are you up to, you silly Wooloo?”

The Wooloo meee-ed as they wiggled within Hop’s grasp, clearly trying to escape to tackle the gate again.

“Don’t go using Tackle on that gate!” Hop warned, lifting up the Wooloo and placing them on the other side of the stone wall, away from the gate and in the midst of the other Wooloos grazing. “Now you listen, no going out that fence. No! Everyone knows there are scary Pokemon living in the Slumbering Wield.”

That must have been scary enough for the Wooloo as it curled into a ball and rolled away. As for the Budews, seeing as the Wooloo was no longer in danger of potentially being eaten by the scary Pokemon, they all went back to the front of the house to hang out.

“Now that’s taken care of,” Hop got into position as if he was going to run, “How about it Vic? Let’s race. Bet I can make it to the station first…”

He eyed the suitcase he was carrying, “…what with you lugging about that big old bag!”

He didn’t even count to three before taking off with Wooloo not far behind.

Ah, same old Hop, always so competitive, but that’s what he likes about him. He smiled and ran after him.

Contrary to what Hop thought, the bag wasn’t all that heavy. He used to carry it around so he got used to its weight – he could even say he gained a few muscles. So catching up to Hop wasn’t a huge problem.

Instead of being surprised or disappointed that he couldn’t even outrun his friend, Hop let out a huge cheer and the two kept on running until they arrived to a huge crowd surrounding the station.

Looks like Hop wasn’t the only one excited to his brother. With only a total population of thirty-six, word got around fast and almost everyone was here to welcome the champion back into his hometown.

Right at the moment they stopped to catch their breath, the Champion of Galar walked out of the station along with his iconic Charizard and did his signature pose for his fans.

The crowd goes wild.

“Ah, it’s our unbeatable champion! Leon, you and Charizard are the best!” yelled an adult man.

“Champion Leon, you are our idol!” followed a young teen.

“I’m always watching your battles. I have never, even once, missed a single match!” cried an elderly woman.

Hop crossed his arms and smiled proudly, “Man, Lee is really popular.”

Sensing a slight drop in his tone, Victor elbowed him by the shoulder to grab his attention. “Maybe a bit too popular if you ask me. Remember those red letters he talked about from his last call.”

Hop snorted and laughed into his hands as he remembered a frantic and red-faced Leon as he told them how a couple of fans found out his address and sent him different kinds of gifts.

It wouldn’t be so bad, but then the red letters came and let’s just say, the contents inside those letters were not written for any innocent eyes. Leon went into hiding for a week before integrating himself back to society.

“Hop!”

The two best friends quickly stopped talking to each other and watched as the crowd parted for Leon to approach them.

“So my number-one fan came to pick me up!” the two brothers shared a close hug that took longer than what Victor could have liked. “Look at you Hop! I reckon you’ve grown, exactly an inch and a quarter since I last saw you.”

Victor scoffed in the inside – that was like elementary school knowledge, even he knows that.

Releasing Hop from his arms, he turned his attention to Victor and gave him a large smile. “And these bright eyes over here must be little ol’ butterknife.”

“You still calling him that?” Hop chuckled. Not like he was any better, he was called Hopscotch, Hopkins, Hopper, or Hoppy when they were younger.

“What can I say, old habits are hard to kill.” Leon eyed him from head to toe before nodding to himself. Did Leon just examined him and gave him his silent approval?

“And you haven’t changed a bit. If we weren’t here to pick you up, you would have gotten lost again,” he teased earning a huge amount of laughter from Hop and the crowd.

“You guys will never stop using that against me huh…”

**\- - - - -**

Back at the brother’s front, all three of them stood on the small court that was used for battling. Hop, as always, was vibrating in excitement as he bombarded Leon with questions.

“You did bring us presents, right Lee? What is it? Is it pokeballs? Potions? Stones? Ooo, maybe one of those special edition Leon Balls. I think I can sell those online; we could make a lot of money with that, ain’t that right Vic?”

How sweet of Hop to include him in his plans, even if they’re going to run a black market selling Leon merch to crazy fans. Although, how did the conversation arrived to that?

“Even better than that!” Leon took out three pokeballs and threw them in the air. Light came out from each pokeball and right in front of them were three pokemon. “Take a good look you two.”

A small green monkey with a twig on his hands showed off by doing a front-flip before smacking his stick on the ground, clearly happy with the three pair of eyes looking at him.

“First off we have the grass-type pokemon, Grookey.”

The next one was a red rabbit that went running laps around them, leaving small scorching footprints that Leon was sure going to get him a scolding from his Mum once she finds out.

“This little rascal is Scorbunny, a fire-type pokemon.”

Last but not the least was a tiny lizard a second away from crying. She was trembling with every single inch of her being, not that she had that many inches to begin with.

“And this water-type pokemon is Sobble.”

All three pokemon lined up in front of them and Leon signaled the boys to get closer. They didn’t hesitate to do so and waited for Leon’s next instructions.

“Everyone knows that once a kid turns fourteen, they’ll be allowed to have their own pokemon and become genuine pokemon trainers,” Leon explained to them. “Being Trainers is far deeper than just being an old Joe owning a Meowth or a Rockruff.”

“Being Trainers mean that you and your pokemon are responsible for each other. You two will go through thick and thin together, sharing memories, experiences, dreams, and ambitions. You will be tied together, and help each other grow as a being. So I want you guys to choose wisely; this is a huge commitment.”

It was already obvious from the start what Victor wanted. Being the son of a swordsmith, he was already brought up to the world of tools and weaponry and gained a lot of knowledge from it, and what better way to put them to use than to apply them to pokemon?

“You go ahead mate, I’ve got Wooloo on me.” Hop happily pushed him and he almost stumbled if it weren’t for his quick footing. “Oops, sorry.”

He didn’t hesitate in approaching Grookey and knelt before him. “Hey there bud, my name is Victor and I’m a Tool Meister.”

Grookey tilted his head in confusion and Victor continued, “It means that I specialize in repairing and maintaining gears such as your stick.”

Hearing the word stick, Grookey looked at the stick on his hand and pointed at it. With Victor nodding in confirmation, Grookey began hopping in joy and climbed onto Victor’s shoulders.

“Glad you’re on board Grookey, I can already tell that we’ll be getting along swimmingly.”

Grookey chirped in agreement.

Hop couldn’t stand it any longer and ran up to Sobble, spooking the poor fella in the process. Hop grimaced and knelt on both knees and gently patted Sobble on the head.

“Hey, don’t cry,” he whispered and picked her up with both hands. “I’m sorry, I got too carried away. Will you forgive me?”

Sobble nodded and managed to control her tears. She slowly crawled onto Hop’s arms and into his shirt, snuggling comfortably and letting out a small satisfied squeak.

“Awww, aren’t you adorable?” Hop cooed to which Sobble squeaked again in response.

Scorbunny, being the pokemon that wasn’t chosen, was dejected and kicked the ground in sadness. Though it didn’t last long as Leon lifted a pokeball and smiled at him.

“What? You didn’t think you wouldn’t be chosen?” Scorbunny lit up, metaphorically and literally, as he jumped and gave Leon a fist bump.

Victor, having noticed of Hop’s odd choice at the beginning, now understood why Hop did it. He bumped against his shoulder, “A type advantage against Leon huh?”

Hop grinned, “It pays to be this prepared Vic. This is just one of my many steps to finally beating him and becoming champion.”

“I one hundred percent believe in you Hop.” And he means it, with all his heart.

In all of these ten years that they were together, Victor watched as Hop grew up to be the amazing person he is today: sweet, honest, energetic, kind, helpful, and caring. A person who wears his heart on his sleeves, and throwing away love to people without any hesitation.

However, that also means he’s soft-hearted and easily affected by people’s words and actions. Being the little brother of the unbeatable champion means filling up big footsteps and living up to people’s expectations of you.

Victor would know. He was there to hear it all.

He could hear the sound of Hop’s heart breaking cries when he thought no one was around to see him break down. One kid from another town bullied him, saying how he’s such a trash compared to his big brother.

The next day, the kid was found wet and clearly traumatized. He refused to tell his parents what happened and just insisted on going back home before the freak comes back to beat him up again.

Obviously the parents tried taking it to the police, but even Officer Jenny couldn’t find any evidence and the case was completely forgotten.

The kid and his parents were never to be seen again and the day after that, Hop went back to being a happy-go-lucky kid.

That was only one of the many bullying incidents to come. Good thing Victor was there to protect Hop; the other kids soon learned to back off unless they want to find themselves lost in a forest or covered in slash wounds.

His thoughts were interrupted as Hop and Leon’s mum came out of the house carrying huge tray of barbeque, ready to be cooked.

“Who’s ready to eat some barbeque?”


	2. The Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop, woop. Another chapter! I'm still ignoring my modules lol.

The very next day got Leon, Hop, and Victor standing on the court again with all of their pokemon out of their balls. Grookey was playing a game of fetch with Scorbunny while Sobble was hiding within Wooloo’s fur, still tired from yesterday’s interactions.

That night, the gang all gathered round to enjoy a table full of delicious meals courtesy of the brother’s Mum and Grandma. There were Barbeques, Kebabs, grilled meat, grilled corn, vegetable and fruit salads, a variety of freshly-squeezed berry juice, and a huge bowl of assorted poke puffs for the hungry pokemon.

Throughout the duration of the barbeque, Victor kept his eyes on Hop the whole time as the latter scarf down kebabs after kebabs in one sitting. Hop must have impressed Munchlax with his eating skills as the baby pokemon stared at him with stars in his eyes.

His mum and Leon must have noticed his odd behavior, but they were kind enough to pretend they didn’t see anything.

“So you guys have already spent the night with your new pokemon,” he waved a hand at them. “You two are getting along right? Laying out the foundation of your new relationship, eager to see where it will go?”

“Uh-huh,” Hop gave him a thumbs-up. “All four of us played a lot of games together, and had loads of fun! I’m pretty sure we’re best friends already.”

He wasn’t lying; it was fun, even if they had to squint through the tears to do anything.

After getting permission from his mum to sleepover at Hop’s place, it only took three minutes for Sobble to start crying again after Victor got a little too close for comfort. Hop had to reassure her that Victor was someone she could fully trust, no questions asked. She did stop eventually, but Victor saw the few stolen glances she took when she thought he wasn’t looking.

She’s behaving as if she knew something was odd about Victor but doesn’t know him quite well to come to a conclusion.

“Then how about we put that friendship to the test?” Both boys already knew what Leon was hinting at, there was only one way to truly see if pokemon and trainer were on the same wavelength.

“You heard the guy Vic, care to have our first official battle as trainers?” As if he could turn that down, he could feel Hop’s eagerness to prove himself right away in front of his brother, to show how he’s fit to become the next champion.

“I wouldn’t want anything else.”

Both boys took their spot on opposite sides of each other. Hop had to prompt Wooloo to back this one out as Victor only had one pokemon. It made sense; Hop had known Wooloo for a very long time so they already know what to do without Hop saying anything.

And just like Leon said, this was a test to see if they truly understood their pokemon.

“Hope you’re ready for me Victor!” Victor smirked – he had no idea. “I’ve read every book, magazine, and research papers about pokemon. I’ve even watched all of Leon’s matches too. I’m totally prepared for anything that you’ll throw at me.”

“Don’t feel too confident Hop, after all, I’ve grown up with you.”

“Let’s do this Midori,” Victor called out Grookey, now nicknamed Midori, who was happy to finally experience his very first pokemon battle.

“You too River, let’s show them what we got.” Sobble, on the other hand, was reluctant as she was still not used to the many pairs of eyes staring at her. But with a little encouragement from Hop, she swallowed her fears and bravely walked onto the court.

Leon took up the position of the referee and stood between the two trainers. “It’s simple. The first one to faint or forfeit loses. Victory goes to those who persevere until the end. If both Pokemon faints, it’s a tie.”

Maybe it was the adrenaline bubbling in him, but Victor felt himself getting pumped up. And it was not only him; even Hop, Midori, and River were in the same state he was in.

“Begin!”

“Midori, use tackle.” Midori acted quickly and in a blink of an eye, appeared in front of River. River was sent flying a feet from her position.

River recovered with only a slight bump on her chest. Hop let out a breath of relief and shouted, “River, camouflage!”

Camouflage? Leon and Victor stared at Hop in confusion, but Hop ignored them in favor of smirking as River dosed herself in water before disappearing completely.

Victor and Midori were shocked and didn’t even get to react when Hop called out an attack, “River, use pound!”

Midori cried out in pain when he felt River’s pound from the back of his head. He tried to retaliate, but the only thing he managed to hit was air. River, with Hop’s command, continued attacking him.

Victor scowled as he watched Midori take hits after hits. He needed to act fast or else he’ll lose!

”Midori, back-up, and use growl!”

Midori jumped from his position and landed closely in front of Victor. Ignoring the continuous onslaught of pain that was traveling throughout his body, he narrowed his eyes, started smacking the ground with his stick, and growled as loud as he could.

At the end of the day, no matter how much praise and cheers she received from Hop, she’s still sensitive and easily frightened. So once she heard Midori growling, she stopped on instinct and trembled.

That was enough for Midori to spot her standing a few inches away from him. Victor saw the opportunity and told Midori to tackle her.

The small monkey grabbed his stick and struck River on the head with all his might. In an instant, River fainted and fell on her back. Midori quickly followed her as he face-planted on the ground. In the end, it was a-

“-tie! Both River and Midori fainted,” Leon announced. He rummaged through the bag he brought with him and threw two potions at their direction.

Both of them caught it effortlessly and applied the potion on their pokemon.

“You did great Midori, you were really awesome out there,” Victor said, smiling at his Grookey.

“You were so brave!” Hop praised River. “Midori didn’t even see you coming. You were just that good!”

“You and your pokemon fought hard, made me almost want to let out Charizard and join in on the fun,” Leon quipped. He crossed his arms and continued talking, “Do me a favor and help each other grow. Be each other’s best rivals that push each other to the limit. And maybe, you guys might become strong enough to face me.”

Hop stuck out his tongue at his older brother. “There’s no maybe, only a surely! Your days are about to be numbered, Lee!”

Leon sweat dropped; why does it sound like he’s going to murder him someday? Maybe he should shorten Hop’s TV time, who knows what kind of stuff he’s learning?

“Well if you really want to beat me, then the first step in doing so is getting a Pokedex. No good trainer takes the Gym Challenge without a Pokedex to aid them. If I remember correctly, Professor Magnolia should have some at the Pokemon Research Center.”

Hop was elated at the thought of finally receiving the one item he wanted the most, and urged Victor to tell his mum that they were going to head out.

After saying goodbye to Leon, the two of them made their way to Victor’s house. Once they were close enough to see the building, they noticed the three Budews running around in panic. This time, they didn’t need to ask what happened – the gate to the Slumbering Wield was pried open.

“That Wooloo must have succeeded in busting the gate open!” Hop exclaimed and eyed the forest several feet away from them. “This is bad Vic, no one’s supposed to go in there!”

“Reckon we get Leon to help us?” Victor suggested, already ready to turn around and run back to Hop’s house.

“Wooloo will be eaten at this rate!” Hop argued. He didn’t hesitate to grab his wrist and ran towards the forest. “There’s no time, we need to find it!”

For someone as skinny as Hop, he sure does have a strong grip, Victor was sure he was going to be sporting some bruises once Hop lets go of him.

He’s not complaining though.

They haven’t even taken ten steps into the weald when they were suddenly surrounded by a thick fog. Victor looked back and saw the path they took disappeared.

This was the first time they visited the Slumbering Weald, and there was a good reason for it. When they were younger, Hop’s grandpa would often tell them tales of the horrible monsters living within the Weald. He told them about how people would often enter the forest, only to come out in a slate state. Other incidents include children disappearing, pokemon attacking their trainers without any reason, the ghostly whispers that echo through the forest that seem to never end, and the several pair of eyes that was said to stare into the soul of whoever was bold enough to look them in the eye.

One could argue that Hop’s grandpa was telling them this in order to scare them so they wouldn’t go. Victor, in his own humble opinion, didn’t believe it and but couldn’t bother to prove it. There was no benefit for him to enter the place.

Not until today.

“Where did that Wooloo go?” Hop mumbled, carefully trudging through the fog with his hand still holding onto Victor’s wrist. “Wooloo! Wooloo!”

The more they went deeper into the weald, the thicker the fog became. It was almost hard to guess where they were and if Hop weren’t holding onto him, Victor would have lost sight of him. For safety purposes, Victor slipped his hand into Hop’s and walked beside him.

Hop was confused and slightly turned red, he tried to say something but nothing came out of his mouth.

He didn’t try to take his hand away, so Victor took that as permission.

“Just so I know that you’re still with me,” Victor answered him. Hop redirected his eyes to his feet and nodded.

While Hop was still distracted by the sudden hand-holding, Victor glanced at the slight opening between the two trees behind them.

It was still observing them.

He wasn’t sure if it was a threat or not, but he doesn’t want to take any chances. Still, whatever thing that was watching them; he hoped it was not hungry for human children. He doubts all three of their pokemon can take the creature on.

“Vic?”

“Yes Hop?”

“Are we lost?”

“Yeah, we’re lost.”

“Oh.”

A loud howl ripped through the forest and Hop yelped as he snapped his neck to where the sound came from. Victor could see how scared Hop was at the moment but put on a brave face and unconsciously placed himself in front of Victor.

His efforts turned out to be in vain though as a strong wind blew in their direction, carrying an abundant amount of dust that had the boys close their eyes lest they want to end up blind. Without thinking, Hop let go of Victor’s hand to protect his face.

“Hop no-!” He made a move to get a hold of Hop but the wind blew again and he was forced to shield himself with both hands.

The wind didn’t stop blowing until two minutes later when it suddenly stopped.

Victor opened his eyes and was taken aback when he was faced with a pokemon he has never seen before. This must be the one that’s observing them earlier.

It had the body shape of a Lycanroc, the body fur of a Stoutland except it was blue, with red braids coming from both sides of its body, battle scars all over his body, and a missing left ear.

Was this the rumored pokemon dwelling in the Slumbering Weald?

“What do you want from us?” he asked the pokemon.

The wolf-like pokemon tilted its head and gestured for Victor to turn around, which Victor did because this pokemon was his only chance of reuniting with Hop, best if he goes along with whatever it wants him to do.

Behind Victor was an altar, a bit ruined yet still standing tall. At the center of the altar was an item. Upon closer inspection, Victor realized that the item was a sword.

He had seen different types of swords growing up – long swords, short swords, broad swords, heavy swords, etc. He had seen swords from different cultures; he was most familiar with katanas as it originated from Kanto, the region he was born in.

The same goes for shields and armors. Though he hasn’t made one yet, his grandparents and great grandparents had. They would enthusiastically showcase their creations for Victor if he asked.

They often told him how the late emperors of Kanto wore the very same armors they made into battle, back at a time where pokeballs weren’t invented and pokemon weren’t domesticated.

Looking back at the pokemon, Victor went to the altar and inspected the weapon’s appearance, “This… it’s rusted…”

It must have been here for a very long time, which raises further questions in his head.

A strange pokemon living within the Slumbering Weald, supposedly guarding an altar that no one has discovered, and a sword that seemed to have lived through the passage of time.

Why was it here?

Why did it bring him here?

Why did it want him to look at these weapons?

And why does he feel like the sword was pulling him in?

His hand hovered over the sword ready to pick it up. Maybe, if he studied it more, he’ll get his answers.

_You are just like him; face and mannerisms alike. But you’re too young, barely grown. You’re not ready to learn the truth._

_But know this, when the day comes, you will walk the same path as him._

Victor gasped and his neck snapped upright. The altar disappeared and was replaced with Hop lying on the ground.

Victor felt his heart jump to his throat and instantly ran to his side. He placed two fingers by his neck and let out a sigh of relief – he’s fine, he’s still alive.

He shook the young lad by the shoulders and Hop groaned by the sudden movement. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up.

“What happened?” Hop looked around and realized that the fog was gradually dispersing. He could clearly see the tall trees surrounding them.

“A pokemon separated us,” he answered, pulling Hop by the hands to help him up. “He showed me something, and left with a few… peculiar parting words.”

“Hop! Victor!”

From the distance, Leon was sprinting towards them, worry covering his entire face. A Wooloo was running behind him and the two have already guessed that it was the missing Wooloo they were searching for.

“Wha- Lee? How did you get here? You’re pants with directions!” Hop exclaimed, sincerely surprised that his brother didn’t get lost.

“Oh, that’s nice to hear from the little brother who had me worried!” Leon scolded. “I’ve been waiting for ages for you and you never showed! Do you know how scared I was when I realized you were in here?!”

“We were just searching for the Wooloo!” Hop reasoned, giving Leon the best puppy eyes he could muster. “Come on Lee, don’t be angry.”

It was a well-known secret that Leon had a big brother complex. Leon caved in as soon as Hop busted out his secret weapon. He groaned and shook his head, “Fine, I’ll let you guys off easy this time. But no more entering restricted area alright?”

Oh, Leon’s totally going to look back on this and wish he could smack his past self in the face.

“Now that’s settled, we should probably leave before mum sends out a search party for all three of us.”

**\- - - - -**

Victor didn’t feel the need to tell his mum about the whole ordeal they went through, so he just told her that he was going to Wedgehurst with Hop to get their Pokedex.

“Off to Wedgehurst are you?” Ms. Tsuguri pulled out her wallet from her pocket and pulled out a couple of bills and handed it to him. “There you go, a little pocket money for your journey.”

“Isn’t this too much? I doubt that I’d spend all of these.”

Ms. Tsuguri shook her head, “You’re a young boy going off on his first day of being a Pokemon Trainer, I’m sure you’ll find something interesting. And also…”

Ms. Tsuguri disappeared into the hallways and Victor could hear a lot of objects being moved. A few minutes later, his mum came back with a medium-sized toolbox.

“You’ll also be needing this,” she passed the box to him. “It has everything you need for gear maintenance.”

“Thanks, mum.”

“And you Midori, look out for my little butter knife.”

“Tumtum!”

With a big and crushing hug from his mum, Victor bid her goodbye and went to route one where Hop was waiting for him.

“Vic!” Hop shouted at him, his hands behind his head. “Glad to see you mate. Finally, I’m taking my first steps of becoming the Champion! So as my rival, you need to get stronger too! I don’t want to leave you in the dust.”

Victor laughed at the teasing tone Hop adapted, “Don’t worry Hop, I won’t.”

“Still,” Hop frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. “It was really crazy back then. Who knew that a mad pokemon was sleeping in the forest? I thought it was just a load of cobblers!”

“You saw it too?”

“Yeah, the body of a Lycanroc, blue fur, and a ponytail right?”

Victor raised an eyebrow and snickered, “Ponytail? Mine had braids coming from the side of its body. Don’t tell me there are two of them.”

“Braids? Are pokemon these days getting their own hairstylist?” They laughed at the bad joke, and the mood between them lighten up a bit. “We should worry about that in the future, for now, let’s focus on taking the gym challenges.”

The two of them walked along the road towards Wedgehurst, taking their time as both got lost in their own thoughts.

Hop, in particular, couldn’t forget what the pokemon told him:

_You bear a resemblance to him._

_You too will share the same fate. You will stand by his side when the time comes._

_Wait for him, and this time, don’t let him go._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope ya guys liked it!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope ya guys liked it!


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